Iran decided at the last minute on Thursday (September 18, 2025) to withdraw a resolution prohibiting attacks on nuclear facilities that it had put forward along with China, Russia and other countries for a vote before an annual gathering of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's member nations.

Western diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the U.S. has been heavily lobbying behind the scenes to prevent the resolution from being adopted. The U.S. has raised the possibility of reducing funding to the International Atomic Energy Agency if the resolution was adopted and if the body moved to curtail Israel's rights within the agency, the diplomats said.

In 1981, the provision of assistance to Israel under the IAEA's technical assistance programme was suspended as a result of an Israeli strike on a nuclear reactor in Iraq. At the time, the attack was strongly condemned in resolutions by the U.N. Security Council, the IAEA General Conference and the IAEA Board of Governors.

The resolution withdrawal comes as U.S. allies have started the clock on reimposing U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Addressing the IAEA's General Conference late Thursday (September 18, 2025), Iran's Ambassador to the U.N. Reza Najafi announced that "guided by the spirit of goodwill and constructive engagement, and at the request of several member states," it deferred action on the draft until next year's conference.

Israel targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites in June, saying it could not allow Tehran to develop atomic weapons and that it feared the Islamic Republic was close. The U.S. inserted itself into the war on June 22, striking three Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful.

The text of Iran's draft resolution contained a paragraph that "strongly condemned" the "deliberate and unlawful attacks carried out in June 2025 against nuclear sites and facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran," adding that it constituted a "clear violation of international law."

It also "reaffirmed" that "all states must refrain from attacking or threatening to attack peaceful nuclear facilities in other countries."

Mr. Najafi said the objective by Iran and the other cosponsors of the resolution -- including Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Belarus and Zimbabwe -- "has never been to create division among member states," adding that "on matters of such importance and sensitivity, it is imperative that the general conference conveys a unified and unambiguous message."

He added, "We firmly believe that the voice of this body should not be distorted under the weight of the intimidation and political pressure exerted by one of the aggressors."

Speaking at the IAEA General Conference earlier this week, the head of Iran's civilian atomic energy organisation, Mohammad Eslami, said he expected IAEA member states to "take appropriate measures in response to these unlawful attacks on nuclear facilities."

He said the "recent threats made by the United States in this regard, as well as the exertion of political pressure on countries and the instrumental use of the Agency in various forms, including through influence on its budget, are matters of serious concern."

Howard Solomon, the U.S. charge d'affaires and acting permanent representative at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, said the draft resolution "painted a deeply inaccurate picture of recent events, distorted international law and selectively quoted from the IAEA statute and other documents adopted by the IAEA General Conference and U.N., taking them out of context and drawing inaccurate conclusions."

Had the resolution been put to a vote, "it would have been overwhelmingly defeated," he said.

Mr. Solomon said that "the grave and growing threat to Israel and the region created by Iran's enrichment program necessitated strong and decisive action directed by President Trump," adding that the U.S. did not "take this action lightly."

A request for comment has been sent to the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna.

The IAEA General Conference consists of high-ranking representatives of the 180 members states of the U.N. nuclear watchdog who debate issues of international nuclear policy. It meets annually in Vienna, approves the budget and considers resolutions on nuclear safety and security issues.

The meeting came at a sensitive time, with France, Germany and the United Kingdom launching the process to reimpose sanctions on Iran over what they deemed noncompliance with a 2015 agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The process, termed a "snapback" by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the U.N. and could take effect in a month.

The move set a 30-day clock for the resumption of sanctions unless the West and Iran reach a diplomatic agreement.

European nations have said they would be willing to extend the deadline if Iran resumes direct negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program, allows U.N. nuclear inspectors access to its nuclear sites, and accounts for the more than 400 kg of highly enriched uranium the U.N. watchdog says it has.

When asked in an interview on Israel's Channel 12 on Thursday (September 18, 2025) whether the snapback was a done deal, French President Emmanuel Macron said, "Yes. I think so because the latest news we had from the Iranians is not serious."

Iran withdraws resolution banning attacks on nuclear sites following U.S. pressure